ABSTRACT

In agroecology, women’s activities, from seed saving to activism, are well documented. Less well described are the factors that support and/or hinder women’s participation in agroecology; we addressed this gap through a feminist analysis of women’s motivations and barriers to participation in agroecological production in Costa Rica. We found that women derive multiple benefits from agroecology. These benefits included: sharing knowledge, creating community, income generation, independence (financial and having their own identity that goes beyond that of a man’s), cultural identity, health (human and land), biodiversity conservation, self-confidence, and leadership opportunities within agroecological networks. Our results also illustrated how there are multiple barriers to women’s participation including: access to leadership positions, government support, access to capital, technology, land access, high costs of agriculture, a lack of understanding of Indigenous culture, triple burdens, and machismo and microaggressions. Although women experienced some common barriers to participation, women experience agroecology differently, based on age, ethnicity, and geographic location, and their unique context. The common barriers reported by women (machismo and triple burdens) illustrate how agroecology cannot be isolated from 1) the wider culture of discrimination against women in agriculture and 2) women’s disproportionate roles in the care economy.

摘要

在农业生态学中，妇女的活动，从种子保存到激进主义，都有详细记录。支持和/或阻碍妇女参与生态农业的因素描述较少；我们通过对哥斯达黎加妇女参与农业生态生产的动机和障碍进行女权主义分析来解决这一差距。我们发现女性从农业生态学中获得多种好处。这些好处包括：共享知识、创建社区、创收、独立（财务和拥有超越人类身份的自己的身份）、文化身份、健康（人和土地）、生物多样性保护、自信和领导机会在农业生态网络中。我们的结果还说明了女性参与的多重障碍，包括：获得领导职位、政府支持、获得资本、技术、土地使用权、农业成本高、对土著文化缺乏了解、三重负担以及大男子主义和微观侵略。尽管女性在参与方面遇到了一些常见的障碍，但基于年龄、种族和地理位置以及她们独特的背景，女性对生态农业的体验是不同的。女性报告的常见障碍（大男子主义和三重负担）说明了农业生态学如何不能与 1) 农业中更广泛的歧视女性文化和 2) 女性在护理经济中的不成比例的角色分离。尽管女性在参与方面遇到了一些常见的障碍，但基于年龄、种族和地理位置以及她们独特的背景，女性对生态农业的体验是不同的。女性报告的常见障碍（大男子主义和三重负担）说明了农业生态学如何不能与 1) 农业中更广泛的歧视女性文化和 2) 女性在护理经济中的不成比例的角色分离。尽管女性在参与方面遇到了一些共同的障碍，但基于年龄、种族和地理位置以及她们独特的背景，女性对农业生态的体验是不同的。女性报告的常见障碍（大男子主义和三重负担）说明了农业生态学如何不能与 1) 农业中更广泛的歧视女性文化和 2) 女性在护理经济中的不成比例的角色分离。